If you’re following the ICC Mens Cricket World Cup 2024, you will agree that this World Cup has been one of the most interesting World Cups ever. So many interesting things happened, but the biggest shock in this World Cup was when the USA beat Pakistan. Nobody was expecting this to happen. But after that match, we got one hero, Saurabh Netravalkar. As his name suggests, He is an Indian-origin American, representing Team USA in the T20 World Cup.
Now, you must be curious to know, who exactly Saurabh Netravalkar is. what is his connection with India? and how he is playing for the USA’s team in the World Cup. Don’t worry, we will all the above questions in the article, as we are going to discuss the complete biography of Saurabh Netravalkar. so stay tuned till the end to get more about Saurabh.
Who is Surabh Netravalkar?
Saurabh Netravalkar is an American cricketer, former Indian cricketer, and software engineer. There was a time when he used to play cricket in India, and he was aspiring to be an International cricketer for India.
He played in the U-19 cricket world of 2010 for India under the captaincy of KL-Rahul. KL-Rahul, Sandeep Sharma, Mayank Agarwal, and Jayant Yadav were his teammates there. and you will be surprised to know that, it was not his first time bowling Babbar Azam. It was 2010 when he played against Babar while playing from India. He was the highest wicket-taker for India in 2010 in the U-19 cricket World Cup. He got 9 Wickets in 6 matches in that tournament.
Unfortunately, he couldn’t achieve his dream of playing for Team India, even after trying very hard. Later he decided to quit cricket and focus on other career options. He went to the USA in 2015 to become a software engineer. and later he joined Oracle as a Software Engineer.
It sounds like a story of a movie, but this is the real struggle story of Saurabh.
Where is Saurabh from in India?
Saurabh Netravalkar is originally from Mumbai, Maharashtra. He has also played Ranji Trophy Match for Mumbai. His native language is Marathi, you must have seen his multiple videos of singing songs in Marathi on his Instagram handle.
He has said in his multiple interviews that he has played cricket with current Mumbai-based Indian cricketers like Suryakumar Yadav since childhood. Also, when the USA beat Pakistan in Super over thriller, Suryakumar Yadav posted a story for him on Instagram.
Why did Saurabh Netravalkar leave India?
He took a call to leave India just because he couldn’t achieve what he was looking for in his cricketing career in India. He failed to make his place in Mumbai’s Ranji Team. and choosing some other career option was the only practical call he had. So he decided to shift to the USA to become a software engineer.
In one of the interviews, He said, It will be emotional for me to play against India. But He almost shocked to Indian fans when he took the wicket of Virat Kohli and then Rohit Sharma. Fortunately, Surya and Shivam Dube saved India by playing very consciously.
Is Saurabh Netravalkar still working at Oracle?
Yes, in one of his interviews, Saurabh Netravalkar shared how he manages his work-life balance. He said, “I have joined meetings many times in between my games”. He also added, “Oracle is the best company, as they really supported me throughout my cricketing career”.
How much does Saurabh Netravalkar get paid as a US Cricketer?
In one of his interviews Netravalkar confirmed, that they don’t get match fees as US cricket, they get daily fees. and it’s around $250 per match, which is very low compared to what Indians or even normal cricket players from other countries get paid.
But I hope US cricket will not get a lot of attention from leagues all over the world and will get a chance to play in popular cricket leagues.
USA’s Performance in World Cup So Far
This was the first time in the history of the World Cup that Team USA got a chance to play the T20 World Cup, just because they were hosts of the ICC t20 Mens World Cup. But they have done extraordinary performances.
They have reached Super 8, which itself is a big thing for a debutant team. Especially, their victory looks huge, you see them among teams like India, Australia, and Englan
Saurabh Netravalkar uploaded a reel on his Instagram handle which went viral in India. You can also see this reel here.
You can take a look at Saurabh Netravalkar’s career stats here.
Conclusion
The moral of the story is you never know when you will get the fruits of the Karma you did. It would have been very tough for him to leave his dream and take a U-turn in his career. But happy for him, he is finally getting recognition from all around the world, and now all his hard work has paid off.
